Tips For Effective SEM

If you're a small company looking to increase your exposure and win new business, you might want to consider launching an e-mail marketing and/or SEM campaign -- if you haven't already, that is.

If you're a small company looking to increase your exposure and win new business, you might want to consider launching an e-mail marketing and/or SEM campaign -- if you haven't already, that is.Once you have a solid website up and running, the targeted nature of e-mail and search engine marketing could exponentially boost your bottom line.

Rich Kahn, CEO of online advertising company eZanga, offers SMBs some tips on using SEM to their advantage.

Industry Experts: Have an SEM expert, with sufficient knowledge, experience, and focus, optimizing your campaign. Your company isn't the only one doing SEM. The competition is stiff, so pick your team wisely.

Tools and Reports: Make sure you have the right ones in place to monitor an online campaign's performance. Also, make sure whoever's in charge of your campaign, whether a staffer or an outside SEM firm, knows how to use and interpret these tools.

Keyword Selection: When selecting keywords, remember to include words people would use to search for the product, and that includes misspellings. The less competitive the keyword, the lower the cost per click.

Landing Page: What's the first thing prospective customers see when they click on a paid listing? Review the landing page where searchers are directed. A page with plenty of useful content doesn't necessarily lead to a lot of conversions. That landing page should be focused, and it should lure the searcher in. That is, the searcher should want to learn more about your company and, ultimately, become a customer.

Phone Call Tracking: Given that most conversions start with a call, this is really important for small businesses. Phone call tracking helps the SEM expert decide how the campaign should be optimized, and it also gives the business owner the transparency to see performance, conversions, and ROI.

Among 688 respondents, 46% have deployed mobile apps, with an additional 24% planning to in the next year. Soon all apps will look like mobile apps – and it's past time for those with no plans to get cracking.